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Monday, May 30, 2011

Well, 26 weeks into this second pregnancy and *probably* 14 left! I can't believe I only have 14 weeks left. (I learned to expect a full-term pregnancy after we had to pry Sophia out on her due date!) Although, ask me again when I am out in 90 degree weather and I might not share the same sentiments! The tone of my voice may change!! :) Ha!

I have kept my vow to the Lord ... I have been slow to grumble and quick to listen/feel during this pregnancy (compared to the one with Sophia). Although some of the nausea is still hanging on, I continue to find joy in this precious life growing in me! I have learned not to take a single kick, roll, or punch for granted!

I have been grateful for some extra spiritual encouragement during this pregnancy. I am currently reading the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. This book has really changed my outlook on life and has really made me a much more grateful person. It really teaches you to be grateful for all the little gifts from above, no matter how small they may seem at the time. I have begun to truly embrace everyday blessings! Thanks Ann for encouraging me during this pregnancy and beyond!!

Although I am kicking myself in the rear for not keeping a pregnancy journal during my first one. Something happens and I think back, did this happen before? When did it happen? How long did it last? For those reading that are not yet a mother, keep a journal during your first pregnancy!! :)

Both pregnancies to date have been pretty similar with a few exceptions. (1) I was completely done with N/V at 20 weeks with Sophia, this little babe has decided 20 weeks is for the birds ... hope I don't have this the rest of the pregnancy, especially for Nate's sake! (2) THE CRAZY VIVID DREAMS are INSANE folks, just INSANE! I remember having weird dreams with Sophia, but gees, I have crazy dreams EVERY SINGLE NIGHT and remember them to a "T" when I wake up. Nate probably thinks I am crazy when I tell him my previous night's dream! Some I must keep to myself b/c they are just too weird!! Ha!

Since we have decided to wait to find out the gender until delivery, it has been hard to nail down names. We have a couple that we (well, maybe I really like), but nothing is for sure yet. I have a feeling we will probably have 2 girl and 2 boy names heading to the hospital!

I am so excited to meet this little sweet baby and anxious to find out if it is a HE or SHE!! I am really enjoying my peaceful evenings with my incredible husband, packing them full of games, talk, and laughter b/c I know life will get crazy and our fun times will be few and far between for a few months at least! I am also soaking up every minute with my sweet, sweet Sophia! Despite the fact pregnancy wears your patience thin, she always brings such a smile to my face and warmth to my heart as we spend each and every day together! Oh how I love where the Lord has our family right now ... I am so grateful to stay home with her for the majority of the time and only work a few times/month (for my own mental sanity!) When I made the very hard (last-minute) decision back in March of 2009 to stay home and only work PRN, I never in a MILLION years would have expected to enjoy my life so much! Thanks sweet Nate for allowing Sophia and I to stay home together while you provide for our family!! A gift that can never be repaid!!

Are you a photographer looking for adorable newborn props for your photo shoots? Or are you a mom to a newborn, trying to get some adorable pictures of your new pride and joy? Or a mom that would love to have some adorable hats for you sweet baby or toddler??

If you answered yes to any of those questions, I have the PERFECT etsy site for you to check out and start making your "wish list!" Alicia, the store owner of Knit by Alicia, has an incredible talent for knitting adorable products! Her etsy profile page states: "I am a stay at home mom who loves to knit. my local yarn shop know me by name, and I love knitting with luxurious yarns." She knits her hats with hand-spun merino wool. She also loves working with cashmere, angora, bamboo, blue sky alpacas, and organic cotton. She also makes hand-knit hats for toddlers as well! She is quite talented in knitting newborn photography props and accessories!

She graciously sent me a newborn hat to review and one to give away to a faithful Go Long! Go Green! reader!

I was so impressed with the packaging when it arrived promptly in the mail. So professional!

Sugar plum nb hat

When I opened the bag, I was extrememly impressed with the workmanship. The hat was incredibly soft and it has great texture. Talk about a hat to snuggle up to ... it is that soft!! The stitches are even and consistent for a great overall appearance. The high quality stitching also will help it to "wear well" in the long run and keep its shape. The merino wool is a very high quality natural fiber and is quite breathable, which makes it more versatile for a variety of types of weather!

I love how the dark purple bow contrasted the purple/pink/white wool colors!

Cute care tag with instructions inside as well as a description of the yarn used.

Here are a few other of my favorite items in her shop:

Natural double pom NB hat

Rainbow NB hat

Natural cocoon - have you seen newborn pictures a cocoon? They are adorable! Check out Alicia's FB page for pics!

Lime green and blue NB hat

If you don't see a color combination you prefer, just email her and she is always up for custom orders.

Also, the pictures I took don't do her work justice. You have to check out her facebook page of all her hats and other knitwear on actual babies!! The professional pictures she has on her FB page will MELT YOUR HEART! Head over and check them out ... HERE

You can get a good idea what they would like on your little babe or your photo subject.

This giveaway is open to the U.S. and will end on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at midnight. The winner will be drawn via random.org and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be drawn. Please, no PO Boxes.

Disclaimer: I received this product free of charge. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not monetarily compensated for this review.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Well the time has come … the GoGreen Pocket Diaper CHAMP 2.0 is FINALLY here!!

First of all, if you don't remember my review of the Original CHAMP, click HERE.

The improvements for the CHAMP 2.0 ....

1) 3rd snap on waist tabs to prevent wing droop (do you see it below in the picture, top left corner?)

2) Front pocket flap cover is contoured to keep it from popping up over the top of the dipe AND made of PUL! (similar to BG flip) (check it out in the pic below at the bottom) Also, the nice thing is when you have the diaper on the smallest rise (as seen below), the large flap cover panel completely covers the diaper. This is very unique to this pocket diaper. I know my BG's don't cover this well! This will be awesome if baby #2 is a boy (especially) to help prevent wicking!

3) Additional back pocket opening cover, contoured, and made of the lining material

See both points of exit?

The back panel actually stays down and helps prevent those inserts from showing, thus decreasing leaks!

4) Rise snaps will be reinforced with a 2nd layer of PUL! Also remember all CHAMP diapers have 4 rows of rise snaps which allows you to completely custom fit your diaper to your babies ever-changing size! (Seen in the picture below)

All of the other features remain the same from the original CHAMP!

Another *NEW* product in the making over at GoGreen is an Adapt-a-Snap™ ! Do you have snap diapers, but prefer a hook/loop closure at times? I know my hubby and parents prefer the hook/loop closure! I would assume most hubby's do!

The Adapt-a-Snap™ works on the Champ or any diaper with standard 1" snap spacing and two rows of 10 waist snaps (I have used it easily on my Bum Genius 4.0).

Re-use it! No laundry tabs needed. Simply remove waist tabs and tummy panel from the soiled diaper and snap it onto a fresh diaper before putting in your pail. No Aplix in the wash means diapers last longer, and won't form "diaper chains!" Also, the waist tabs feature both hook and loop so they can be overlapped!

The Adapt-a-Snap™ is a genius idea! Way to go GoGreen!! Nothing before has given you the versatility to switch back and forth b/w hook/loop and snaps so easily! The nice thing is you can keep using it over and over again without washing it since it stays on the outside of the diaper! When they are available, they will be $6.99. However, remember, you will only need a few to get by!! One is even a HUGE help!!

My Review: Once again, GoGreen Pocket Diapers stands out from the crowd of pocket diaper makers with The Champ 2.0!! Can it get any better?? :)

The new features and no added cost (compared to Champ) make this diaper every bit worth its money! My favorite improvement is the large PUL panel on the front of the diaper. It dramatically decreases leaking out the front even with a tummy gap. I know when we put Sophia to bed at night with a full (BIG) tummy, the diaper is snug, however, thanks to digestion and 12 hours of fasting, the tummy sure shrinks at night. We need all the protection we can get out the front of the diaper!! Who doesn't run into this problem?

The back pocket opening cover is a nice feature too. Often it seems like the inserts want to work their way towards the openings, this minimizes/prevents any possible leaking from that route.

The hip snaps to prevent wing drooping are a great benefit. This is one feature that the BG 4.0 had that I really liked! Thanks GoGreen for improving your diaper in this way too!

Finally, The Adapt-a-Snap™ is an excellent product-in-the-making! Each cloth diapering family should have at least one of these! It really is a benefit, especially to those that like a hook/loop closure at times. Honestly, in my opinion, you can always get the best fit/tightness with the versatility of velcro!!

As I have said before, I have two favorite pocket diaper brands, and GoGreen (now THE CHAMP2.0 ) is one of them!! Thanks GoGreen for being an incredible pocket diaper choice, yet very affordable for cloth-diapering mamas like me trying to save the GREEN in our pockets!!

I can't wait to meet baby #2 and put him/her in this adorable GIRAFFE CHAMP 2.0!!

This giveaway is open to the U.S. and will end on Thursday June 16, 2011 at midnight. The winner will be drawn via random.org and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be drawn. Please, no PO Boxes.

Disclaimer: I received this product free of charge. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not monetarily compensated for this review.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

To celebrate Nate's 37th birthday, we headed for a few day vacation with only 1 kid in tow to Chicago! You can guess which kid we took this time?? (Having a hard time, check out the pictures below! hehe!)

I was able to Priceline the Palmer House Hilton (4-star) hotel for $100/night!) Woot Woot!! We were so pleased with the hotel. We felt like it was way out of our league!! We spent the majority of Friday (which was beautiful) walking around downtown Chicago. Believe me, I was pooped by the end of the day! We would stop, read our books, relax, people watch, then start walking again. Oh yeah, and it gave this preggo-mama a much needed resting break!

We ate at this tiny little hole-in-the-wall Hot Wok Cool Sushi across from the park! It was so beautiful inside and we had authentic Pad Thai! Ahhhhhhhh, it tasted so good!! If the cheesecake factory would have been closer, we would have walked there for dessert, but I just couldn't make it any further!!

Large and in charge baby!!

The huge buildings make my belly look smaller! Whew!

Trump Tower

25 week belly shot!

My birthday boy!

THE MOST AMAZING BFAST SPOT EVER!!!

We got the chance to meet up with our friends Chad and Leslie! They brought they lil' sweet pea Adelynn

A picture of the birthday boy on his 37th birthday!

Now who is in charge?

Nate asked me to bake him FROM SCRATCH a Gluten-Free Dk Choc Rasp cake with homemade choc icing! Can't wait for him to get home so we can try it!!

What kind of vacations do you like to take with your hubby sans the kiddos that are economical?

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Two weeks ago I turned 31! Wow!! It sure seems like this past year went by so quickly! It has been a wonderful year full of many blessings and many incredible memories! I am so thankful to be where I am in life ... God be the Glory! :)

I am still trying to learn to balance blogging with a very VERY active 2 year old. We have been busy (as you know) preparing her new room and making the official move! We have been busy playing outside soaking in some much needed rays, although I would really like to enjoy some spring weather before SUMMER comes! (Mother Nature ... please take this as my PLEAD and ONLY WISH, remember I am 24 weeks pregnant!)

We had a great Mother's Day celebrating Hannah's Dedication as well as my birthday with my family.

Can you tell she is saying CHEESE?

One of the best pictures of her in a LONG time, unplanned
and in a weird place ... but SUPER cute!

Smiling in her new green dress (what a bargain) and shaw made by Pat Campbell!

Recently Sophia really has been getting into playing hide-and-seek with Nate and I. She loves to count to "13" (I know, random right?) ... then come find us! I told her it was time to go to bed tonight and she said, I go hide mama ... did she THINK I wouldn't find her? Ha!!

One other random note ... Mother's Day morning we spotted 3 (NASTY) possums in our backyard. I tried to zoom the camera through the window to take their pictures. They are such nasty things ... the long tail .. YUCK! Thank heavens we were inside and they were outside! And to think ... we don't even live in the country!

Hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day!!

I am working on a review of an awesome hand-knitted hat! Get excited for the upcoming giveaway!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Yesterday we had our much anticipated ultrasound to get a sneak peak at Baby #2, however this time, we avoided his/her southern most region if you know what I mean! HA!! We are so excited to find out when he/she decides to arrive!!

We got a great 5 min DVD of the US. Sophia says, "Watch my baby sister movie again please mama?" I say, it could be a baby brother to which she says, "No mama, it's a baby sister!" I tell her ... that is what daddy thinks too!!

Well, after MUCH anticipation and hesitation, we FINALLY took the plunge!! Sophia earned her 7th sticker in a row for using the big girl potty for #2 so she earned her first night in the big girl bed. She was amazing! We put her in at 8pm, she didn't make a peep, and I went in at 8am the next morning and she was still in her bed, just waking up! She said, "Mama, I sleep in my big girl bed and I not get up till mama comes in!" Such a good little girl!!

Here are a few pics of her tucked in ready to go for her first night ... kind of monumental for her parents!

She doesn't look a bit happy, huh?

The next day I braved the first nap in her new bed and she was awesome ... so needless to say the transition I thought would take weeks, took 1 time and she is a rockstar. We moved her clothes and closet contents. She has officially graduated to her NEW room!!